From the shelf · 102 money books
Does Retirement Made Simple hold up?
Retirement Made Simple (Whittaker) is one of the 102 money books on The Money Shelf. It comes from the shelf’s earlier bookshop lists and the books that make specific claims. The shelf links it to 2 of the 22 claims that the book tests against official records from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Each verdict below comes from that test.
Claim 19 · The book makes this claimRetirement savings: work out your number and time your state pension
Holds with conditionsA retirement can be priced against a published benchmark in the UK and Australia, and in the US against the Elder Index for basic needs and a rule of thumb expressed as a share of earnings, provided the price allows for home ownership, the withdrawal rate and how long the money has to last.
Read the full test →Claim 21 · The book makes this claim401(k), ISA and super: use the tax-advantaged accounts first
Holds with conditionsEach country’s main account carries a tax treatment that an ordinary account lacks, which is income-tax deferral in the US, tax relief in the UK and a 15 per cent contributions tax against a 30 per cent marginal rate in the Australian example.
Read the full test →One book holds the whole shelf: 22 claims from 102 popular money books, every figure dated, every source named, and the arithmetic worked through for three countries.
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